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This work analyzes the dynamic relationship existing between tourism and economic growth through the use of different indicators to measure tourism activity, according to regional data from Spain taken from 2004 to 2021 that are linked to the NUTS‐2 level of the nomenclature of the territorial units for statistics of the European Union. This is an innovative approach as compared to the majority of existing works analyzing this relationship at a country level. However, it is widely recognized that the contribution of tourism to growth takes place in the form of regional development. By introducing the notion of distance between the dynamic trajectories of the different regions, an analysis of hierarchical clusters was performed, enabling the identification of regional groups having similar behavior in terms of tourism performance and economic growth. In this work, it has been established that the impact of a region's total (national and international) tourism, in terms of both number of tourists and tourism expenditure, is the most appropriate indicator for tourism analysis at a regional level. Furthermore, it identifies the characteristics that are found in tourist regions having a higher level of economic growth, from a tourism perspective: high tourist spending, hotel accommodation, motivation for leisure, longer average stay, the region's orientation towards the tourism industry, and, mainly, the impact of international tourism. Therefore, those responsible for tourism destination management should implement policies that favor the arrival of tourist flows with these characteristics if they intend to promote tourism as an instrument for greater economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a dynamic model of economic growth and tourism when the environmental dimension is included in the decision‐making process of the agents. In this setup, the economy can be represented by a four‐dimensional dynamic system, which admits a set of four‐dimensional optimal trajectory. Using dynamic programming tools, we aim to study the economic behaviour of a touristic economy in which environmental dimension is considered as a system's component. It is shown that there is a unique non‐trivial equilibrium of all variables. The general results of the study indicate that the variable's dynamic relationships are complex and that the growth guided by the tourism development could exist under the presence of pollution as well as the dynamic of natural resources. The main policy implication of the results is that policy makers should control the main system's variables in order to stay in a desirable path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyze the dynamic relationship between economic growth and CO2 emissions for a set of 98 countries over the lengthy period from 1951 to 2014. We describe the topology and hierarchy of countries and introduce a different concept of economic performance based on the idea of dynamic regimes. These regimes are defined by the average levels of per-capita CO2 emissions and the growth rates of per-capita GDP. By presenting a nonparametric clustering technique, the paper identifies two main groups. One cluster can be identified as the group of developed countries, which presents a homogeneous structure and tends toward more similar dynamics over time. The other cluster, associated with developing countries, is homogeneous but the dynamics of the countries do not show convergence. The study also finds some, though little, mobility between the groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the inter‐regional economic inequality index and the gross state product per capita for the Mexican states over the period 1940–2015, we apply regime dynamics and hierarchical cluster analysis for segmenting the sample into regimes of Mexican states with similar performance. Robust econometric models are studied showing the direction of causality between economic inequality and income per capita, and the existence of a U‐shaped curve for the interdependence between economic growth vs economic inequality, and threshold levels. We additionally demonstrate the existence of inequality traps. The education literacy rate as a control variable indicates an inverted U‐shaped curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyse the technical efficiency in terms of innovation of the firms in the service sector in the Uruguayan economy. Therefore, we use data from the 2010-2012 Innovation Activities Survey of the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII). In a first stage, we estimate the level of efficiency of each company through a Data Envelopment Analysis model, incorporating the inputs and outputs related to the innovative activity of the firms. The results reveal that, despite the effort made in terms of investment in innovation, the results are still very poor. On average, the companies analysed could increase their innovation production by 44.5% given the resources invested. Subsequently, we explore the relationship between innovative efficiency and several characteristics of the firms. In this sense, we found that medium-sized firms have lower efficiency than small and large companies. The results can be useful for both those responsible for the area of innovation of the firms, as well as to the institutions that provide support in the field of innovation (such as the ANII), since they provide substantive evidence to improve the orientation of the innovative strategy to be followed by firms in the service sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the first agent-based models (ABM), the scientific community has been interested in making not only the results of computational models understandable but also the modeling description, to facilitate their replication. The form that has been adopted to a greater extent has been the ODD (Overview, Design concepts, and Details) protocol, which provides a generic structure for its documentation. This protocol provides a way to clearly explain the procedures and interactions of the complex systems to be analyzed, with applications that have spread across different disciplines. This study presents a bibliometric analysis using Scopus database of the articles that emerged from the first publication of this protocol in 2006. The results show that the use of this form of documenting has grown in Economics, but its participation remains stable in relative terms. Results also show that the top journal both in number of articles and impact is JASSS, but it is not observed that there is a greater dissemination toward specific Economics journals or that it is used for a greater number of topics. Finally, it is found that there is a common core in Economics' ABM literature, with a bias toward methodological articles in the articles that follow the ODD protocol while there is a bias towards articles on economic models in those that do not follow this protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims to measure tourism's contribution to economic growth in the city of Medellin, Colombia, using data for the period 2005-2015. Initially, the different characteristic of the tourism sector branches are identified in the local gdp accounts. Then, tourism's contribution to economic growth in Medellin is measured, and the relationship between tourism activities and economic growth is determined using the methodology of Ivanov and Webster (2007). The results show that for the analyzed period, the participation of tourism in Medellin's gdp was between 8 and 9%, which illustrates the importance of the sector for the economy of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the dynamic relationship between income inequality and economic growth by using a non-parametric approach and numerical taxonomy as a research method based on data symbolization and clustering methods. The study uses annual data of the GINI index (considering two databases, i.e. the Standardized World Income Inequality Database (SWIID) and the Estimated Household Income Inequality Data Set (EHII)) and the Per Capita GDP Growth Rates (economic growth variable) for two samples, i.e. 38 countries between 1980 and 2015, and 23 countries during the period 1980–2010. This novel methodology is used to detect the existence of clusters of countries sharing similar economic performance that are characterized by the income inequality variable. Once the homogeneous clusters are fixed, using a dynamic econometric approach, we study the Granger causal relationship between economic growth and income inequality, and the positive or negative long-run effects. Our results show that in advanced economies there is an economic growth policy supporting income distribution, while in poor or developing economies economic growth is enhanced by income concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper analyzes the decision-making processes of heterogeneous agents, when both individual preferences and group actions are taken into account. Under the assumptions of certain topologies of interactions and assuming cognitive and informational restrictions, an agent-based model is introduced to analyze the evolution of decisions over time. The results of the simulations show how social pressures can determine the relationship between individual and social preferences. Societies whose agents have strong individual preferences have outcomes with fragmentation processes that generates a higher number of groups. A minor importance of the individual preferences, results in a smaller proportion of individuals maximizing their individual utility. As well, the quantity of options available and the initial proportion of each alternative are significant variables to determine the proportion of individuals selecting a particular option. In addition, the study analyzes the existence of equilibrium of the dynamical system. To this aim, the notion of metastable equilibria is introduced and linked to the dynamic analysis. Highlights • We introduce a dynamic model of decision-making processes. • The study generalizes the traditional model of Axelrod (1997). • The simulations show that coalitions arise from the iterative decision-making process. • Generically the model converges towards a stable situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This piper introduces the use of graphs in the analysis of the determinants of tourists' expenditure, providing an alternative approach to the methods usually employed. Graph-based analysis is applied to study the behavior of cruise passengers arriving at the ports of Montevideo and Punta del Este in Uruguay. The graphical representation allows to synthesize and visualize the relationships between the set of variables that characterize tourists or tourist groups and the determinants of their level of spending. The graphbased methodology is particularly suitable to represent the dependency relationships among variables (between adjacent nodes) and conditional independence (between non-adjacent, nodes). For the empirical application, individual data from the surveys of cruise passengers corresponding to the cruise season between November 2014 and April 2015 in Uruguay are considered. The existence of dependencies between spending variables and other variables that, may be of interest (sociodemographic, contextual, etc.) is studied. The exercise shows that, the variables that, better explain visitors' behavior are linked to the port, of disembarkation and the expenditure. The results also show that, socioeconomic variables are not. directly linked to spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explore the dynamic relationship between public debt and economic growth by using a non-parametric approach based on data symbolization and clustering methods. The study uses annual data of general government consolidated gross debt-to-GDP ratio and gross domestic product for sixteen countries between 1977 and 2015. Using symbolic sequences, we introduce a notion of distance between the dynamical paths of different countries. Then, a Minimal Spanning Tree and a Hierarchical Tree are constructed from time series to help detecting the existence of groups of countries sharing similar economic performance. The main finding of the study appears for the period 2008–2016 when several countries surpassed the 90% debt-to-GDP threshold. During this period, three groups (clubs) of countries are obtained: high, mid and low indebted countries, suggesting that the employed debt-to-GDP threshold drives economic dynamics for the selected countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Uruguay, as in other Latin American countries, cruise tourism has increase its importance as a source of foreign exchange. In order to contribute to the planning of tourism programs and intensify this trend, this paper analyses the socioeconomic, satisfaction and behavioural determinants of cruise passengers at landing ports. Results from Heckman's selection models applied on surveys from 2010 to 2014 show that only a few characteristics determine the level of spending: the Brazilian nationality, travel in groups, visiting Montevideo and being satisfied with the trip. This pattern has not had significant variations in the period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study applies network analysis to analyze the structure of the Euro Stoxx market during the long period from 2002 up to 2014. The paper generalizes previous research on stock market networks by including asset returns and volume trading as the main variables to study the financial market. A multidimensional generalization of the minimal spanning tree (MST) concept is introduced, by adding the role of trading volume to the traditional approach which only includes price returns. Additionally, we use symbolization methods to the raw data to study the behavior of the market structure in different, normal and critical , situations. The hierarchical organization of the network is derived, and the MST for different sub-periods of 2002–2014 is created to illustrate how the structure of the market evolves over time. From the structural topologies of these trees, different clusters of companies are identified and analyzed according to their geographical and economic links. Two important results are achieved. Firstly, as other studies have highlighted, at the time of the financial crisis after 2008 the network becomes a more centralized one. Secondly and most important, during our second period of analysis, 2008–2014, we observe that hierarchy becomes more country-specific where different sub-clusters of stocks belonging to France, Germany, Spain or Italy are found apart from their business sector group. This result may suggest that during this period of time financial investors seem to be worried most about country specific economic circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Market segmentation comprises a variety of measurement methodologies that are used to support management, marketing and promotional policies in tourism destinations. This study applies ClustOfVar, a relatively recent algorithm for cluster analysis from mixed variables. The technique finds groups of variables by using a homogeneity criterion based on the sum of correlation ratios for qualitative variables, and squared correlations for quantitative variables. Then principal components from each cluster of variables are extracted in order to segment cruise passengers. CART analysis is finally used for the sake of finding the variables that drove the formation of the clusters. All the analysis is based on an official survey of tourists who disembarked in Uruguayan ports. The analysis identified five clusters, both for variables and cruise passengers. Findings highlight the importance of the enjoyment of the contact with local people for the economic impact, as well as the important role of age and gender related variables. Managerial implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Bagged Clustering method is an alternative and effective method to clustering. [•] Bagged Clustering is suitable for different type of segmentation variables. [•] Ad-hoc survey was conducted among visitors of a cultural event. [•] Motivation (Likert) and travel spending (dummy) were used as segmentation variables. [•] Visitors are clustered according to motivations and travel spending separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Economic efficiency of cableways in the region of Bolzano (Italy) is estimated. [•] A panel DEA has been employed as a non-parametric approach. [•] Findings reveal that cableways denote decreasing returns to scale. [•] Results show that cableways in Bolzano are relatively economically inefficient. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Market segmentation comprises a wide range of measurement tools that are useful for the sake of supporting marketing and promotional policies also in the sector of cultural economics. This paper aims to contribute to the literature on segmenting cultural visitors by using the Bagged Clustering method, as an alternative and effective strategy to conduct cluster analysis when binary variables are used. The technique is a combination of hierarchical and partitioning methods and presents several advantages with respect to more standard techniques, such as k-means and LVQ. For this purpose, two ad hoc surveys were conducted between June and September 2011 in the two principal museums of the two provinces of the Trentino-South Tyrol region (Bolzano and Trento), Northern Italy: the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano (ÖTZI), hosting the permanent exhibition of the “Iceman” Ötzi, and the Museum of Modern and Contemporaneous Art of Trento and Rovereto (MART). The segmentation analysis was conducted separately for the two kinds of museums in order to find similarities and differences in behaviour patterns and characteristics of visitors. The analysis identified three and two cluster segments respectively for the MART and ÖTZI visitors, where two ÖTZI clusters presented similar characteristics to two out of three MART groups. Conclusions highlight marketing and managerial implications for a better direction of the museums. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of this study is to examine cruise passengers' characteristics, preferences and their overall experience in a port of call. Based on 1,361 survey data collected from passengers in the port of call of Cartagena, during the third quarter of 2009, a three-step multivariate market segment analysis is employed. First, a correspondence analysis is run to reveal the underlying factors in the data; second, based on the correspondence analysis, a hierarchical cluster investigation is performed to segment the sample into homogeneous groups; third, a decision tree is computed to characterise each group. The cluster analysis identifies six distinct market segments differentiated by nationality, satisfaction, safety perception and expenditure. The findings imply several policy directions. In particular, institutions should enhance the perception of safety in Cartagena to guarantee repeated visits, an ad hoc marketing policy may encourage revisit by young South Americans, and managers should extend the inland visiting time that is likely to produce local multiplier effects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes the dynamics of economic performance for the sub-national Mexican states from 1970 to 2006; the state variables used are the levels and the growth rates of per capita GDP. The authors situate this approach in a conceptual and methodological panorama of the existent literature. Starting from the regime concept, the paper introduces a distance notion to compare the observed paths and the clustering of the economies whose evolution is studied. The analysis shows that two fundamental clusters have existed: one of high and another of low performance, in addition to other transitory groups. In the high performance cluster the member's number increases, while in the low performance cluster this number diminishes. At the same time, the article shows that the sub-national states that belong to the first cluster have had an increasingly similar performance. Also, it confirms that the sub-national states move from the low to the high performance cluster, and that the distance between both clusters has increased. The interpretation of these facts is based on the dual economy concept proposed by the development theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Considering the importance of market segmentation as a marketing tool to determine promotional policies, this paper aims to contribute to the tourism literature using the two-level approach proposed by as an alternative and effective method to conduct cluster analyses. For this purpose, an empirical study was conducted interviewing tourists who visited three different Christmas Markets in Northern Italy. The two-level approach is based on two clustering techniques used in sequence: a Self-Organizing Map (SOM) followed by a clustering algorithm. The Silhouette index () is used as a guideline during the second level in the selection process of both the best clustering techniques (between hierarchical and non-hierarchical) and the best partition. The analysis identified three cluster segments and this paper demonstrates the suitability of the clustering method adopted. In the discussion of the results, marketing and managerial implications are also highlighted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper introduces a methodology to describe and compare the economic relative performance of the hospitality sector of the Italian regions during the period 2000–2004. Dynamics of the hospitality sector of each region is represented by the evolution of its economic efficiency. The investigation involves the following steps: a static Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to estimate the pure economic efficiency; two different notions of distances between time series and hierarchical clustering techniques are used to classify the economies in the sample. By using a correlation-based distance, three main clusters are detected, while two clusters are identified when the average distance is used. The trend patterns, identified by employing the correlation distance, can be interpreted in terms of exogenous factors that influence the economic efficiency of the group of regions, causing shocks picked up by the high volatility as well as structural breaks. By employing the average distance, one infers information on the cluster that have had similar efficiency values over the period under analysis. This efficiency can be also interpreted in terms of a particular type of hospitality management as well as the firm structure. Following the analysis, some policy and management implications are presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

ABSTRACT In this paper, we study the dynamics of economic growth for 140 countries during the period 1951-2003. The variables representing economic performance are levels and growth rates of per capita gross domestic product. Using the concept of economic regime, we introduce a notion of distance between the dynamical paths of different countries. Then, a minimal spanning tree and a hierarchical tree are constructed from time series to help detect the existence of groups of countries sharing similar economic performance. The two main clusters that are identified over the whole-time interval can be interpreted as two groups of countries with high and low performance, respectively. The evolution of such clusters shows three main stylised facts: Certain countries move across clusters; the high-performance cluster tends to span, while the low-performance one tends to be (more) compact; and the distance between the two groups increases in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of the generally accepted view that second homes induce a higher seasonality and a lower occupancy rate than hotels, they persistently prevail in many tourism destinations. This paper introduces a mechanism to illustrate and analyze the decision problem of constructing second homes or hotels. We introduce a two period game with two players representing a developer of buildings in a tourism destination D and a tourist T. D owns a piece of land and faces two alternatives: to construct a hotel or to build a second home. T has to choose between buying a second home or renting a hotel room. Another ingredient of the model is an externality mechanism representing the value placed by tourists on the probability of finding an available place at the destination. The paper shows the persistence of sub-optimal equilibria in the game, in which the land is allocated to a socially inefficient use (second homes rather than hotels). We show that a necessary condition for such inefficiency to emerge is that the related externality cannot be internalized. This occurs under a regime of dispersed ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of the different impacts of cruise tourism in Costa Rica. The purpose of the study is to provide information, based on primary investigation collected by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute during the period 2006-2008, to help the decision making process and the establishment of policies and strategies for cruise ship tourism. We focus on cruise passenger demographic characteristics, preferences and expenditure behaviors, and we compare the expenditures of the average cruise passenger with the average land tourist that visits the country. We show that Costa Rica's cruise tourists tend to visit the same attractions at the same time as the land tourist. We show that cruisers are older and less wealthy, and spend less time and money than the average tourist, raising some concerns as to whether cruise tourism in Costa Rica should be encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we introduce a new method to describe dynamical patterns of the real exchange rate co-movements time series and to analyze contagion in currency crisis. The method combines the tools of symbolic time series analysis with the nearest neighbor single linkage clustering algorithm. Data symbolization allows us obtaining a metric distance between two different time series that is used to construct an ultrametric distance. By analyzing the data of various countries, we derive a hierarchical organization, constructing minimal-spanning and hierarchical trees. From these trees we detect different clusters of countries according to their proximity. We show that this methodology permits us to construct a structural and dynamic topology that is useful to study interdependence and contagion effects among financial time series. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the study examining the proposed methodology of S. Ivanov and C. Webster, which measures the impact of tourism to the economic growth. Accordingly, in order to test the methodology, it is applied to the economies of Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay which are all tourism-oriented economies. The analysis of the result indicated that the contribution of tourism industry to the economic growth of all the sample Latin American countries is minimal. Further, the contribution of tourism to the economy can only be measured locally, and not through the economy as a whole.

The article presents a study which demonstrates that the incentive of hotel chains to invest in environmental quality directly depends on the demand on holidays on the part of tourists and on the level of aggregate income. The study uses a framework based on a theoretical model of horizontal differentiation and modifies the model by introducing a special dimension and three tourist regions with several hotel establishments. The study concludes that the international chain has fewer incentive to invest in environmental quality since an increment of the investment produces a decrease on the demand of the other regions.

Abstract: This paper introduces a new methodology in order to construct Minimal Spanning Trees (MST) and Hierarchical Trees (HT) using the information provided by more than one variable. In fact, the Symbolic Time Series Analysis (STSA) approach is applied to the Dow Jones companies using information not only from asset returns but also for trading volume. The US stock market structure is obtained, showing eight clusters of companies and General Electric as a central node in the tree. We use different partitions showing that the results do not depend on the particular partition. In addition, we apply Monte Carlo simulations suggesting that the tree is not the result of random connections. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One of the usual hypotheses in standard economic growth theory is that labor force follows exponential growth. This is an unrealistic assumption because growing exponentially population can be arbitrarily large. In this paper we reformulate the neoclassical Solow model of economic growth by assuming that the law describing population growth verifies two stylized facts: i) population is strictly increasing and bounded and ii) the rate of growth of population is strictly decreasing to zero. The main result of the paper is the proof of the convergence of capital per worker to a constant value independently of the initial condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we analyze the relation between social welfare, and Pareto optimal allocations. As it is well know, each Pareto optimal allocation has associate a specific vector of social weights (one to each agent of the economy). This vector has associate a specific social utility function (the Negishi function) and then, each Pareto optimal allocation has associate a level of welfare. The concern of this work is to analyze the possibility that the economy reach, in a decentralized way, the maximum possible level of social welfare, considering as given the aggregate amount of its initial resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce the formalism and terminology of multiregime dynamics for both theoretical modeling and data analysis. Coding is proposed as the appropriate tool for the analysis of such special type of dynamics, focusing upon switches between suitably defined dynamical regimes. Individually taken these switches often represent abrupt alterations in the qualitative features of the dynamic process. At times, however, they seem to be stringed together to show emerging (near) regularities and fluctuations. This opens new vistas upon applications to the analysis of the vector time series of socioeconomic models. In empirical applications, coding involves transformation of data into a sequence of symbols that is then analyzed with information-theoretic tools, so as to extract information about generating processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial markets can be modeled as complex systems. The Hugh quantity and different information affecting these markets is a remarked characteristic. However some of this information can be recovered by constructing a topology of the market. We develop a symbolic method in order to study relationships in the financial markets by constructing a minimal spanning tree (MST) and a hierarchical tree (HT). The method is successfully applied to the Italian financial market, detecting clusters with economic sense. This classification is helpful in portfolio construction and studying industrial networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this short paper we present a simple model of three tourist regions to study the incentives of hotels to invest in environmental quality. In particular, we show that the price of a hotel room depends positively on the level of investment to preserve the natural characteristics of the region and negatively on the relative investments of the other regions. In this sense, we show that to maintain the tourist demand for rooms the hotels must invest continuously in environmental quality. Regions with low investment in preserving environmental quality have a high probability of disappearing as a tourist destination. We also show that the incentive to invest in environmental quality is a decreasing function of the number of hotels located in a particular region and that the incentive of hotel chains to invest in environmental quality is dependent on whether they are local or international. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to apply the methods of Symbolic Time Series Analysis (STSA) to a series of inflation from a group of Latin-American economies. Starting with a partition of two inflation regimes, we use data symbolization for identifying temporal patterns. Afterwards the statistical information obtained from the patterns is used to estimate the parameters of a nonlinear model proposed by Brida (2000).1 We compare the performance of the model against a naive benchmark predictor to verify its power to anticipate the qualitative behavior of the inflation time series. When the use of STSA is made through pure optimization criteria, the performance of the model is poor. However, when the partition of the space of states is made according to economics intuition, the performance of the model increases considerably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the dynamics of economic performance for the sub-national Mexican states from 1970 to 2006; the state variables used are the levels and the growth rates of per capita GDP. The authors situate this approach in a conceptual and methodological panorama of the existent literature. Starting from the regime concept, the paper introduces a distance notion to compare the observed paths and the clustering of the economies whose evolution is studied. The analysis shows that two fundamental clusters have existed: one of high and another of low performance, in addition to other transitory groups. In the high performance cluster the member's number increases, while in the low performance cluster this number diminishes. At the same time, the article shows that the sub-national states that belong to the first cluster have had an increasingly similar performance. Also, it confirms that the sub-national states move from the low to the high performance cluster, and that the distance between both clusters has increased. The interpretation of these facts is based on the dual economy concept proposed by the development theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]